Elevators/ Forklifts

[rjbarra]

I think the main problem with elevators or forklifts is performance. It will be slow. I am just going from experence of the game 3 years ago with the tetras

Joe Barra

[NeedMoreEngines]

Originally Posted by rjbarra

I think the main problem with elevators or forklifts is performance. It will be slow. I am just going from experence of the game 3 years ago with the tetras

Joe Barra

Exactly. If you've only got 15 seconds, the only setup strong enough to dead-lift another robot won't be able to go 12'' in 15 seconds.

Try a screw-type device. They gave us a small black one in the kit. the only problem is that the threads make it extremely slow but very very powerful. There probably isn't anything out there with coarse enough threads to make the lift go faster, and still maintain that same power.

[rjbarra]

I think they were talking on placing the tubes with a elevator lift

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by rjbarra

I think the main problem with elevators or forklifts is performance. It will be slow. I am just going from experence of the game 3 years ago with the tetras

Joe Barra

But the tetras weighed a minimum of 7 lbs and the ringers weight about 1. So with the same power output and proper gearing you should be able to lift tubes the same height at least seven times faster.

Remember Power = Work/Time = Force (weight) * Distance/Time. I'm liking having to worry more about robot to robot interactions than just weight in my designs

[Allison K]

If anybody has a copy of the 2004 Championship presentation called "Manipulators and Mechanisms" (Or something like that) it has a few good drawings of different ways to cable a forklift. We used a forklift in 2005 and had no problems with the speed, even with the heavy tetras. A three stage lift with all internal cabling powered by (I think) a fisher price motor and a Bosch drill transmission. The only problem we had with it was we had to switch from aluminum axles to steel because the aluminum ones got all warped, and the cable broke once or twice (it was nylon) but it wasn't hard to restring it.

~Allison

PS - If anybody does have a copy of that presentation (it was in powerpoint) it would be splendid if you could send me a copy.

[Zoheb N]

Here are pictures of Team 118's elevator that we made for the 2004 competition. Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

[Donut]

Extruded aluminum with some of the plastic slides work extremely well for an elevator; we used it in 2005, and it is high on the consideration list for this year as well.

[Rick TYler]

Remember that the lifting apparatus can push against the floor directly underneath the robot being raised. There is no need for it to be a completely cantilevered structure. Think "automotive floor jack" instead of "forklift."

[zander_108]

Yes. That is exactly what i was thinking. It is to have a sicssors lift that is completly self supported from the ground. This means that in will be able to lift the robot relitivly quickly with the right set-up .

[agndoggieboi]

Our team made an elevator for the 2005 competition. You can see the pictures on our site, www.mckinleyrobotics.org and go to the 2005 website link.

[Justin M.]

One of our off-season projects involved making a lazy boy into a moving robot with pneumatic lifters...lets just say that was the inspiration for our manipulator this year.

[Greg Wood]

This Question is referring to the concept of having a component push against the ground and raise the robot.

According to <G56> "Robots score bonus points at the end of the match if they are entirely in their HOME ZONE, not in contact with any element of the field (carpet, alliance station, goal, etc.) and the lowest point of the ROBOT is higher than 4 inches and/or 10 inches above the carpeted field surface."

So my question is, can you have an entity on your robot push against the ground and not qualify as being the lowest point of the robot? Or are there some special circumstances?

Thanks.

[Clinton Bolinger]

Originally Posted by Greg Wood

This Question is referring to the concept of having a component push against the ground and raise the robot.

According to <G56> "Robots score bonus points at the end of the match if they are entirely in their HOME ZONE, not in contact with any element of the field (carpet, alliance station, goal, etc.) and the lowest point of the ROBOT is higher than 4 inches and/or 10 inches above the carpeted field surface."

So my question is, can you have an entity on your robot push against the ground and not qualify as being the lowest point of the robot? Or are there some special circumstances?

Thanks.

That rule is referring to a robot that is being lifted by another robot. So the robot that is being lifted can not come in contact with the field and its lowest point must be higher then 4" and/or 12". But the robot that is doing the lifting can and will come in contact with the field, unless your robot has an anti-gravity machine.

-Oris-

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by Oris

But the robot that is doing the lifting can and will come in contact with the field, unless your robot has an anti-gravity machine.

-Oris-

If you can do that, you will:

a) have a very good chance of winning the Championship
b) have a very good chance of winning a Nobel prize, assuming you manage to get the credit.

[wilsonmw04]

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/1871

try this link for a really quick rundown of folklifts. There's a really nice picture there to get the brain moving. Just trying to figure out where we can get, or produce cheaply, the rails/tracks for something like what's on page 14.